The present invention relates to book boxes and book rests and more particularly to a combination book box/book rest which can be formed from a one-piece foldable blank.
Heretofore, various book rest devices have been used to provide an inclined support for books and various box designs have been used to cover or contain books, but until the development of the present invention, there has been no known device capable of serving as both a book rest and a book box. Despite the clear convenience of a device which serves both those functions, the prior art does not appear to have even addressed the problem solved by the present invention.
Examples of the various types of known book rest devices are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 1,728,431, issued to Mevi and U.S. Pat. No. 2,165,255 issued to Hamilton. Mevi discloses a book supporting device, one leg of which may be fastened directly to the binding of a book and the other leg of which supports the book in an inclined orientation for reading. Hamilton shows a collapsible cardboard device which uses a slot and tab system to achieve support. Neither device, however, is capable of serving as a book box or container.
Similarly, examples of typical book containers known in the art are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,215,780 issued to Carlson, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,046,311 issued to Voytko. Each of these prior art references discloses a container having a series of foldable flags which can be shaped to enclose an item such as a book or the like. However, neither of these book containers is disclosed as being capable of providing the support necessary for a book rest.
Of course, as is well-known, the prior art is replete with numerous other boxes and containers which are suitable for service as a book box of container. However, so far as is known, none of such conventional boxes or containers are especially constructed and configured for conversion to a book rest in the manner of the present invention.